3#2 
NATURAL HISTORY 
head was flat, and wider than the body at its juncture, 
gradually tapering off towards the mouth. The mouth 
wide; the tongue forked; the eye full, prominent, and 
piercing; the colour of the under jaw whitish; that of the 
body, and back part of the head, dark, inclining to black; 
the thickness of the body about the size of a flour barrel; 
and the length of the animal variously conjectured, from 
forty to a hundred feet. But, in order to afford the 
reader a better opportunity of arranging his conceptions 
of this extraordinary monster, we shall make free to 
quote a few of the observations verbatim. 
Substance of the deposition of Amos Story, of Glou- 
cester, Essex county, Massachusetts. 
On the tenth day of August, A. D. 1817, I saw a 
strange marine animal, that I believe to be a serpent, at 
the northward and eastward of Tenpound Island, in the 
harbour of Gloucester. It was between the hours of twelve 
and one o’clock when I first saw him, and he continued 
in sight an hour and an half. I was sitting on shore, and 
was about twenty rods from him when he was nearest 
me. His head appeared shaped much, like that of the 
sea turtle, and he carried his head ten or twelve inches 
above the surface of the water. His head at that distance 
appeared larger than the head of any dog I ever saw. 
He moved rapidly through the water: I saw no bunches 
on his back. On the twenty-third, saw what I believe 
the same animal again, at seven in the morning: he then 
lay perfectly still, and should judge that I saw fifty feet 
of him at least: neither his head nor tail was visible; his 
colour appeared to be a dark brown: and when the sun 
shone upon him the reflection was very bright. I thought 
his body was about the size of a man’s body. 
Deposition of Solomon Allen 3d, No. 4., in the county 
of Essex, ship-master. 
I have seen a strange marine animal, that I believe to 
be a serpent, in the harbour of Gloucester. I should 
judge him to be between eighty and ninety feet in length, 
and about the size of a half barrel, apparently having 
joints from his head to his tail: my view about one hun- 
dred and fifty yards. When he moved on the surface of 
